It's time to contact Governor McAuliffe, who said he is a gun owner when he was a candidate, to encourage him to sign HB 962, Delegate Ben Cline's bill that clarifies current law on being able to transport a loaded handgun in a closed, but not necessarily locked, compartment or container in a vehicle or vessel.

As you recall, the Governor changed HB 962 to require the loaded handgun be in a LOCKED compartment or container. VCDL members sent over 4,000 emails to the House of Delegates and that change was soundly rejected by the House (30-70), so the bill is back in front of the Governor in its original form.

As a fellow gun owner, you can appreciate the importance of a law being as clear as possible to avoid false arrests. HB 962 makes just such a clarification, as false arrests have indeed happened because the police misinterpreted the law as currently written.

Case law, an Attorney General's opinion, and the legislative history all confirm that the current law does not require the compartment or container to be locked in a vehicle or vessel when transporting a handgun.

Please sign HB 962 so that the law on legally transporting handguns is crystal clear for everyone.

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VA-ALERT is a project of the Virginia Citizens Defense League, Inc.
(VCDL). VCDL is an all-volunteer, non-partisan grassroots organization
dedicated to defending the human rights of all Virginians. The Right to
Keep and Bear Arms is a fundamental human right.